High water declarations have been lifted on Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia, although local officials are still concerned about flooding and shoreline erosion from the elevated lake levels.
The slow, no-wake restrictions that were put in place after wettest June in Minnesota history are gone, but officials remind boaters that it's illegal to operate a watercraft so that its wake "endangers, harasses, or interferes with a person or property."
Officials lifted the unprecedented no-wake restriction on Lake Minnetonka in late July, but restrictions remained in place for boaters in smaller bays and within 600 feet of the shoreline. Although the high-water declaration is over, boaters there still must follow the standard speed limits and minimum restrictions on the lake: 40 mph during the day and 20 mph at night. Boaters also must observe the 5 mph-minimum wake in channels, bays and shoreline and shoreline delineated by markers and buoys, within 150 feet of the shoreline and 150 feet of authorized swimming areas or swimmers.
Mary Lynn Smith
